Resource: The hours of sunshine in Lombok is higher than on many of the other Indonesian islands. The average daily solar energy received on a horizontal surface (GHI) in Lombok vary from 3.3 to 5.6 kWh/m2 , the lowest being on the volcano Rinjani, and the highest being on the South and East coast and the most Northern coast of Lombok.
Utilisation: We assume that the modules of the solar PV plant will be installed with a fixed tilt of 10° and a DC/AC ratio of 1.1. A DC/AC ratio larger than one means that the PV array’s DC rating is higher than the inverter’s AC rating. This increases inverter utilisation, although it also results in some PV energy curtailment during the sunniest periods when PV output exceeds the inverter’s capacity. The prices of PV modules have dropped more rapidly than the prices of the inverters, therefore many developers have found it economically advantageous to oversize their PV module surface. The additional harvest in the off-peak period more than offsets the losses from the curtailment. This design results in 1800 full load hours at the chosen site.
The most suitable land to acquire for solar PV plants is rice fields, which are relatively flat, and also assessed to be possible to purchase to less on a long-term basis. A potential site is assessed to be suitable just south of Lombok International Airport. The site will cover an area of 20-30 ha. The site is chosen due to the substation location at Sengkol, just south of the airport - a substation which has just been extended in 2018. It is assessed to be technically feasible, since in the same area a 5 MW solar PV plant is being commissioned